Bellini



E. BELLINI Oct. 27, 1953 Filed June 8 1951 9 l 0 2 t E Z 7 a I 5 -F w 2 w a 2 ROCKER ARM FOR KNITTING MACHINE$ AND THE LIKE TIE-J1- INVENTOR: 11 a ,Belli z,

ATTORNCY.

Oct. 27, 1953 E. BELLINI 2,656,729

ROCKER ARM FOR KNITTING MACHINES AND THE LIKE Filed June 8. 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 PIE--5 INVENTOR: I Ezggenejelline,

Patented Oct. 27, 1953 ROCKER ARM FOR KNITTING MACHINES AND THE LIKE Eugene Bellini, Jackson, Ala., asslgnor to Vanity Fair Mills, Inc., Reading, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application June 8, 1951, Serial N 0. 230,584

7 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a cam operated rocker arm construction for machines in general, and more particularly to a sectional rocker arm arrangement which places the. rocker arm members and their cam followers in a common plane with the operating cam means.

One object of my invention is to provide a novel cam operated rocker arm device which has certain structural and functional features of advantage over the similar devices of the prior art.

Another object is to provide such a device in which the cam operated rocker arm is arranged to function in a positive and precise 122111181 at all times.

A further object is to provide such a device which is arranged to permit adjustment for wear in the surface of the operating cam and in the cam followers, so as to eliminate any lost mo tion which may develop between the rocker arm and its operating cam means.

An additional object is to provide such a device which is especially adapted for use in knitting machines for effecting precise operation of certain knitting elements, or mechanisms.

It is also an object to provide such a device which will transmit its cam movement devoid of any torque in the rocker arm, or any bending effect on the shaft operated thereby.

Another feature of the invention resides in the provision of such a device having an adjustable locking member for united movement of the rocker arm with a shaft or other element operated thereby.

Still another object is to provide such a device which is constructed of sectional parts that are combined in adjusted relation for positive joint operation by opposed balanced cam surfaces.

With these and other objects in view, which will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of a practical and illustrative embodiment of my improvements shown in the accompanying drawings, my invention comprises the novel rocker arm device, elements, features of construction and arrangement of parts in cooperative relationship, as more par ticularly defined and indicated by the hereunto appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of one of the members comprising the rocker arm device of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a side .elevational view of a second member of said rocker arm device.

Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of a certain locking and adjusting member for said rocker arm device.

Fig. 4 is an elevational view of the assembled rocker arm device of my invention. as it appears when associated with the main cam shaft of a conventional knitting machine to eilect actuation of the needle bar shaft of the latter; the section being taken substantially as indicated by the arrows 4-4 in Fig. 5.

Fig. 5 is a front elevational view of the rocker arm device and knitting machine parts illustrated in Fig. 4, with certain knitting machine parts added. 7

Fig. 6 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view of a modified form of connecting means between the rocker arm members of my invention.

Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view of certain parts illustrated in Fig. 6, taken substantially as indicated by the arrows l -l on the latter.

It will be helpful to an understanding of my invention to first briefly consider some of the more important aspects and features: thereof, so that these may be kept in mind during the subsequent reading of the detailed description of the practical and illustrative embodiment thereof shown in the accompanying drawings.

Accordingly, it is pointed out that in the conventional design of rocker arm devices used in modern machines, such as warp knitting ma chines, the cam follower is offset relative to the rocker arm, so that a torque action or force is transmitted to the rocker arm during movement of the latter by its operating cam. This torque action or force is transmitted to the needle bar carrying shaft and affects its movement to an extent causing more or less inaccuracy in the movement of the needle elements, with the result that imperfections appear in the loop structure of the knitted fabric produced by the machine.

Correction or adJ'usment for wear in the surface of the operating cam and the cam followers of a conventional prior art rocker arm device of the type having a cam follower to one side thereof, is usually attained by the use of a bolt operated arrangement which controls the contact relation between the cam surface and the cam follower. Any such adjustment is, of course, subject to the same torque action or force previously mentioned, with the result that accurate wear adjustment is impossible, or at best very unreliable.

It is, therefore, absolutely essential to the precise functioning of a rocker arm device that the indicated detrimental torque or stress conditions be eliminated. My novel rocker arm device accomplishes this by an arrangement in which the cam means, as well as the rocker arm with its cam follower, operate in a common plane, so that action of the cam on the follower will move the rocker arm in a predetermined are without developing a lateral torque or twisting action. In this manner movement of the rocker arm by the cam means brings about precise axial turning movement of the rocker arm operated shaft and consequent precise movement of the needle elements, or other parts, carried by the shaft which is operated by the rocker arm.

Furthermore, to effect exact operation of the rocker arm device, the rocker arm must, at all times, be capable of positively and precisely transmitting the movement imparted to it by the surface of the cam means. Any wear in the surface of the cam and cam followers must con sequently be compensated for by adjustment, and this requires the provision of practical and effcient means for carrying out the desirable result. My novel rocker arm device provides such means in the form of certain adjustable sectional parts which comprise the rocker arm, in conjunction with an adjustable locking mem ber combinedly and cooperatively arranged to effect accurate contact and adjustment of the cam followers in relation to the cam surface and precise transmission of the cam movement to the elements, parts, or mechanism to be actuated.

Referring to the drawings, in which similar reference characters designate like parts, one embodiment of my invention comprises a rocker arm generally indicated by the letter R, which includes a right hand arm section I and a left hand arm section 2. These arm sections are provided with hubs 3 and 4, respectively, that are mounted on a machine shaft such as a needle bar shaft 5. The right hand arm section I has a circular boss 6 in which is provided a circular aperture 1. The left hand arm section 2 has an elongated boss 8 in which is provided a segmental slot 9. Both the aperture 1 and slot 9 are positioned on their respective arm sections so that the aperture I and slot 9 can be brought into registry with each other. A connecting bolt I is arranged to clamp the opposing surfaces of the bosses E and 3 against each other, between the head of the bolt If] at one end and a clamping nut II which is threadedly engaged on the other end of the bolt I0.

Each of the arm sections I and 2 is bifurcated at one end and each bifurcation carries a pivot shaft to rotatably support a cam follower or roller. The right hand arm section I carries a cam follower or roller 12 and the left hand arm section 2 carries a cam follower or roller I3.

As illustated in Figs. 4 and 5, the cam followers I2 and I3 are contactingly aligned with the oppositely extending cam surfaces of two identical cams I4 and I5, in such manner that the followers l2 and I3 are located at diametrically opposite points of said cams. The cams I and I5 are secured to a cam shaft 56, by bolting the constituent cam sections thereof together about the shaft I6 in well-known manner as shown, or they may otherwise be secured to the shaft IS in suitable and practical manner, so that rotation of the latter will first cause the follower IE to be moved by the positive or projecting portion of the cam surface of the cam I4 to the right in Fig. 4, while the roller I3 carries out a corre sponding movement in the same direction by following the negative portion of the cam surface of the cam I5. The cam surfaces of each of the cams I4 and B5 are designed and positionally arranged on the cam shaft It in such manner that the follower on one respective section or segment of the rocker arm R, when traveling along part of the perimetrical cam surface of its respective cam, causes a predetermined movement of the rocker arm R in one direction, for effecting proper movement of a needle bar N, or other means to be operated by the shaft 5, in one direction. During the other part of the revolution of the cam shaft It, the follower of the other rocker arm section causes a corresponding movement of the shaft 5 for the operation of the needle bar N, or other means, in the opposite direction. The perimetrical cam surfaces of each of the cams I4 and I5 are so designed and arranged as to cause the follower of one rocker arm section to be positively moved by one cam, while the follower of the other rocker arm section is allowed to follow this same movement during contact with the other cam. In this manner both followers are kept in com stant rolling contact with both cams, and the rocker arm R is positively acuated by one or the other of the cam surfaces of the cams I4 and I5.

The cam followers or rollers 12 and I3 of each respective arm section I and 2, are thus located and rotate in a common plane with the cam by which they are operated so that pressure applied against the cam followers or rollers is transmitted through each rocker arm section to the shaft 5, without any tendency to twist the arm section or shaft 5 in doing so.

Any wear in either the cam surface, or the cam follower and its mounting, is quickly compensated for by bringing the arm sections l and 2 of the rocker arm together until any lost motion between the cam followers and the cams is taken up and the followers again have constant contact with the perimeters of each cam. For this purpose the connection between the arm sections I and 2 provided by the bolt It and clamping nut I I is loosened to permit movement of the bolt II) in the slot 9 and thus allow the ends of the arm sections to be moved toward each other. After the adjustment is made, the two arm sections are again tightly clamped together by the bolt I0 and the nut I I and fastened in their adjusted position to the needle bar shaft ?8by suitable means, such as by set screws I! and An adjustable locking member 20 is fixed to the needle bar shaft 5, by a pin 2 I. This locking member comprises a short arm at the free end of which is formed an elongated boss 22 provided with a segmental slot 23. A clamping bolt 24 passes through the slot 23 and through a bore 25 of a boss 26 formed on the rocker arm section I. The arm 20 is firmly clamped to the rocker arm section I, by the clamping bolt 24, and its clamping nut 21 to thus additionally lock the rocker arm R for the transmission of its movement to the shaft 5, as clearly shown in Fig. 5.

To effect adjustment of the needle bar shaft 5, the set screws I1 and I8 are released in the hubs 3 and 4 of the rocker arm sections I and 2 and the bolt connection between the rocker arm section I and member 20 is loosened, so that the shaft 5 may be adjusted independently of the rocker arm R to initially locate the needles 28 of the needle bar N in their proper position for operation by the cams I4 and I5. When this has been done, the rocker arm is indirectly locked to the shaft 5 through the member 20 and directly fastened to the needle bar shaft 5, in proper relation to the cams I4 and I5, by tightening the set screws I1 and I8 which individually secure the sections I and 2 to the shaft 5.

As illustrated in Fig. 5, the needles 28 are, as usual, carried by the bar N, the ends of which are supported on arms 29, only one of which is shown in Fig. 5. These supporting arms are each provided with a hub 30 respectively fixed to the shaft 5 by a pin 3|, or other means.

The adjustment means between the rocker arm sections I and 2 of the rocker arm R and between the rocker arm section I and the movement transmitting member 20, as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, may be modified as illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7, wherein the clamping bolt B there shown may be substituted for the clamping bolts I0 and/or 24 of the rocker arm device previously described. The bolt B comprises a shank portion 32 which is mounted for concentric rotation in the circular aperture of one of the previously described members, for example, the rocker arm section I and a shank portion 33 which is eccentric to the shank portion 32 and projects through an elongated aperture 34 provided in the second member, for example, the rocker arm section 2. Rotation of the bolt B in its respective members will effect lateral displacement of the members toward and from each other so as to attain the adjustment desired.

Of course, the rocker arm device specifically shown and described can be changed and modified in various ways without departing from the invention herein disclosed and more particularly defined by the hereto appended claims.

I claim:

1. A device of the character described, comprising a shaft, a pair of cams having identical perimetrical cam surfaces positionally mounted in spaced parallelism on said shaft so that their cam surfaces are in direct opposition with one another, a rocker arm member for each of said cams arranged in a common plane with its cam, a shaft on which said rocker arm members are mounted, a cam follower on each of said members adapted to contact a respective cam surface, a locking member fixedly mounted on said rocker arm shaft, means for adjusting said rocker arm members on said rocker arm shaft, means including an eccentric element for adjustably connecting said rocker arm members with each other, and means adjustably connecting one of said rocker arm members with said locking member.

2. A device of the character described, comprising a shaft, a pair of cams having identical perimetrical cam surfaces positionally mounted in spaced parallelism on said shaft so that their cam surfaces are in direct opposition with one another, a rocker arm member for each of said cams arranged in a common plane with its cam, a shaft on which said rocker arm members are mounted, a cam follower on each of said members adapted to contact a respective cam surface, a locking member fixedly mounted on said rocker arm shaft, means for adjustably locking said rocker arm members to said rocker arm shaft, means adjustably connecting said rocker arm members with each other, and means including an eccentric element adjustably connecting one of said rocker arm members with said locking member.

3. A device of the character described, comprising a shaft, a pair of cam having identical perimetrical cam surfaces positionally mounted in spaced parallelism on said shaft so that their cam surfaces are in direct opposition with one another, a rocker arm member for each of said cams arranged in a common plane with its cam, a shaft on which said rocker arm members are mounted, a camfollower on each of said members adapted to contact a respective cam surface, a locking member fixedly mounted on said rocker arm shaft, means for adjusting said rocker arm members on said rocker arm shaft, means including an eccentric element adjustably connecting said rocker arm members with each other, and means including an eccentric element adjustably connecting one of said rocker arm members with said locking member.

4. A device of the character described comprising, a cam shaft, a pair of cams having iden-- tical perimetrical cam surfaces positionally mounted in spaced parallelism on said cam shaft so that their cam surfaces are in direct opposition with one another, a rocker arm member for each of said cams arranged in a common plane with its cam, a cam follower on each of said members adapted to contact a respective cam surface, a rocking shaft on which said rocker arm members are mounted, means for locking said rocker arm members to each other in adjusted relation so as to maintain the cam followers and cams in selected cooperating relationship and the rocker arm members fixed to each other for united actuation by said respective cam surfaces, and mean for connecting the rocking shaft with one of said locked-together rocker arm members in selectively adjusted relation.

5. A device of the character described comprising, a cam shaft, a pair of cams having identical perimetrical cam surfaces positionally mounted in spaced parallelism on said cam shaft so that their cam surfaces are in direct opposition with one another, a rocker arm member for each of said cams arranged in a common plane with its cam, a cam follower on each of said members adapted to contact a respective cam surface, a rocking shaft on which said rocker arm members are mounted, means for locking said rocker arm members to each other in adjusted relation so as to maintain the cam followers and cams in selected cooperating relationship and the rocker arm members fixed to each other for united actuation by said respective cam surfaces, and means for connecting the rocking shaft with one of said locked-together rocker arm members in selectively adjusted relation, which means includes a separate arm fixed to the rocking shaft.

6. A device of the character described comprising, a cam shaft, a pair of cams having identical perimetrical cam surfaces positionally mounted in spaced parallelism on said cam shaft so that their cam surfaces are in direct opposition with one another, a rocker arm member for each of said cams arranged in a common plane with its cam, a cam follower on each of said members adapted to contact a respective cam surface, a rocking shaft on which said rocker arm members are mounted, means for locking said rocker arm members to each other in adjusted relation so as to maintain the cam followers and cams in selected cooperating relationship and the rocker arm members fixed to each other for united actuation by said respective cam surfaces, and means for connecting the rocking shaft with one of said locked-together rocker arm members in selectively adjusted relation, which means includes a separate arm that is fixed to the rocking shaft and is provided with an arcuate connection adjustment slot.

7. A device of the character described comprising, a cam shaft, a pair of cams having identical perimetrical cam surfaces positionally mounted in spaced parallelism on said cam shaft so that their cam surfaces are in direct opposition with one another, a rocker arm member for each of said cams arranged in a common plane with its cam, a cam follower on each of said members adapted to contact a respective cam surface, a rocking shaft on which said rocker arm members are mounted, means for locking said rocker arm members to each other in adjusted relation so as to maintain the cam followers and cams in selected cooperating relationship and the rocker arm members fixed to each other for united actuation by said respective cam surfaces, and means for connecting the rocking shaft with one of said locked-together rocker arm members in selectively adjusted relation, which means comprise a separate arm fixed to the rocking shaft and an eccentric connecting element arranged to be turned so as to effect lateral adjusting movement between said separate arm and one of said rocker arm members.

EUGENE BELLINI.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

